Noble Blood
by Victor Weiss
Summary: YGGDRASIL was a great game, as far as DMMO-RPGs go it had been a perfect adventure for the man behind the Lord of Vampires, now, as the time counts down to the shut-down of the servers, said Lord finds only disappointment as the end nears, luckily for him life is stranger than fiction and there is still an adventure ahead! OC-Centric, T because Goblin Slayer, Overlord and Language.
1. Prologue

**Noble Blood**

 **Prologue!**

There was something to be said for YGGDRASIL's twelve years of operation.

As a Deep-Dive Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, or DMMO-RPG, it held the distinct title of being one of the few who's customization and player freedoms reached into levels unseen for something of it's scale and it had kept the player base for much of it's life. Now, it would end, as the Developers, or the Shitty Devs as the player base liked to call them, announced the Servers shut down earlier in the week.

For many, that meant it was time to pack up, sign on or off, delete characters, various methods of accepting this eventuality. Any Guilds who cared to had probably signed in and sat in their meeting rooms, reminiscing among the members who remained, solo or small group players getting in their last adventure against the deadline that would mark the end of an age for the DMMO-RPG community.

For one particular player, however, whom was currently residing in a dark, torch lit cave surrounded by various treasure chest filled to the brim, and some even overflowing, with wealth across all planes. From rare crafting materials, to expensive gemstones of various purity and sizes, to large amounts of gold.

It was a hoard fit for a thriving magical kingdom, dozens of chests full, the gold glimmered in the flickering light of the torches around the spacious cavern, red and green fabrics hung down from the "ceiling" of the room. Adorned with the emblem with of a sword enveloped by three sets of Bat's wings around it, giving it the appearance of a Seraphim, or dark parody of the Angelic species given the bat wings.

It was the personal sigil of the being sitting atop the luxurious throne at the furthest end of the cavern. This individual was a particular sort of player, like many others, he waited for the end of YGGDRASIL in his own special way.

He'd posted on the forums that his entire wealth was for the taking, all anyone need do was defeat him and plunder it after his defeat. A final challenge to any and all who'd answer it.

So far? The man was so disappointed he'd have sighed loudly enough to bring the cave down around him if it would break the ceaseless waiting for something, someone, to come upon him and issue their challenge.

Five attempts had been made now, three had been solo-players of level equal to him, Humans, of course, looking to slay the "Dark monster", they'd been good and fought well in each account, but hardly the world ending duel the man on the throne had wanted. The fourth attempt was by a party of five players, levels varying from upper 70s to lower 90s. They'd fought savagely, without care, but with enough tactic to force the now bored host to actually pull out all his tricks to ensure his victory and they fell.

The fifth attempt had been a solo player of level 82.

Eighty-Two. Against a Level _One-Hundred_?! Solo! The sheer dumb nerve of the player had almost been charming, and in YGGDRASIL, level gaps weren't the end all be all definition of a battle, but the more levels you had, the more skills and stats you had access to.

And the fool had learned that Eighteen levels was a gap one did not get forgiven for when the wealth of a small guild was on the line.

The being upon the throne had even gone as far as to un-equip his God level items, dismissing glimmering, black and red armor, heavily enchanted dragon leather and his Unholy Sword, replacing it instead with Mid-Level armor, though "armor" was a misleading term, the armor was little more than a black breastplate over a red long sleeved shirt.

With his almost casual pants and boots, he looked more like a Low level Fencer than the real "Lord of Vampires" he was, but that had been the point. His fifth challenger was so underwhelming he didn't want to overwhelm them and instead tried to make the gear a little more less to balance it out.

His Unholy Sword had even been replaced with a custom forged black Katana, a weapon more suitable for a swordsman of level upper-mid level, than a max leveled Vampire Warrior.

And despite these handicaps, the fool had been bested almost agonizingly easily.

Now, with only a scant few minutes left before the world around them was gone, the man on the throne was bored...And disappointed.

"Five years of my life," he drawled, rising from his throne and waving his arm aside slamming a pale, black clacked fist into the throne with the beginnings of a snarl on his lips. "And this is how it ends? A final battle against a fool...?"

It was disappointing, so very disappointing.

All that he'd accomplished, all he'd gained and ground almost of his free time for after hours of working himself to near death IRL was for this disappointing end to a game that had become almost as real as his REAL life?

"Well," He muttered to himself, glancing down at his fist, which had done a whopping 0 damage against his throne. "Real life is disappointing, why shouldn't this one be any different?"

His Username was Old Tepes IV, and he was a member of the Heteromorphic race known as Vampires, and being a Heteromorphic Race player, had faced blatant "racism" during the life of the game, since Human players received no penalty for killing them, there were whole guilds dedicated to "eradicating" the other races, it was an interesting dynamic, really, one Old Tepes had indulged in for the sheer challenge.

As he'd grown stronger, died and lost levels, regained them and moved his classes about to and fro, experimented, he'd risen to level 100 and had stayed so for close to a year now. His defeats reserved to duels against players he approached or approached him, becoming something of a renowned Duelist within the Community, he'd even earned the respect of some of the higher tier Human players, joy.

At least, he supposed, Old will have "died" in this life as an undefeated legendary Vampire.

 _Is that really a comfort_? Old Tepes thought as he glanced up at the ceiling of the cavern containing all his wealth _. I suppose it will have to be, I can't change it now_.

He glanced at the timer at the corner of his HUD. It read 0:21 until Server shut down. "It's been a good second life, YGGDRASIL," He said aloud to the game itself. "I'm going to miss you." Call him sentimental, but one didn't dedicate their free time to a game this long and not grow attached.

The Timer ticked on, and Old sat back down, closing his eyes. He'd be forced to log out and return to RL, from there, he'd need his customary five hours of sleep and go to work. Resuming his cycle of life without the comfort of YGGDRASIL when he got out of it.

Somehow, that made his heart heavier than he'd ever admit. "Maybe I am depressed." He muttered with dry humor and leaned back against his throne. "What a pain."

0:00.

Then, his closed eyes opened... And Old Tepes wasn't back in his apartment like he'd thought.

"...Interesting."

He would end up thinking that would be the most appropriate response to a situation many would consider "Impossible" and "unachievable without some serious drugs". But then, life IS stranger than fiction, is it not?

 **End of Prologue.**

 **Now, this isn't really going to be some super serious attempt at writing some ground breaking fanfiction that'll receive high praise and awards for...Stuff? Iunno, it was mostly because I like Overlord, and Goblin Slayer is such a bloody treat. (Getit, because there's lots of-Baaah, you get it!) And I thought "I should cross that over", why? Because damnit I want to!**

 **Ahem! Now, this is about an OC, and not one connected to Big Bone Daddy Ainz, as I realise that seems to be a thing, instead we're following this OC of mine, and because what does Goblin slayer need if not more blood? More blood drinking of course! Anyways, I'll appreciate your thoughts on this likely to be dumpster fire in the making, but if I make past chapter 6 (A lot of my muse seems to die there, really) Then I'll reward myself with a cookie.**

 **So, here's the obligatory information concerning Ol' Tepes, he is level 100 and by Overlord's stats that basically makes him a God, even in the New World, in Goblin Slayer he'd probably be considered on par with a walking catastrophe waiting to happen. Fun!**

 **Name: Old Tepes VI**  
 **Race/Levels: Vampire - 10**  
 **High Vampire - 10**

 **Class/Levels: Warrior - 15**  
 **Swordsmaster - 10**  
 **Unholy Sword Wielder - 5**

 **Alchemist - 10**  
 **Poison Maker - 5**  
 **Blacksmith - 10**  
 **Weaponsith - 5**

 **Noble Vampire - 10**  
 **Vampire Prince - 5**  
 **Lord of Vampires - 5**

 **These are the basics for what makes Old Tepes what he is, I took a few liberties with the classes and race, since I didn't know if there were any other Vampire race levels other than Vampire, Lesser Vampire, and True, plus Origin, so, I decided to go with High Vampire. As for his special classes, Lord of Vampires and Unholy Sword Wielder, well, I might shed some light on those classes later!**

 **That said, if I missed anything (Bar a lot of details in my writing!) Feel free to ask about it via PM or Review, I shall answer what I can. Oh, and yes, this story will have a few OCs, as for the inclusion of other Players, I dunno, I shall have to think on it!**

 **Until next time.**


	2. Chapter One

**Noble Blood**

 **Chapter One**

Old Tepes IV, Unholy Sword Wielder and Lord of Vampires in YGGRASIL, realized something had changed the moment the timer reached zero because the world around him was suddenly so very _real_. He could hear it in the subtle breeze that echoed along the cavern's walls, he could smell the metals of the Gold, armor and weapons resting in the chests, even the earth of the cavern itself. The heat of the flames licked at his skin and the wood of the throne beneath his pale bare hand was suddenly so very grab able.

The High Vampire was also aware of the aching in his throat and gut, it was subtle, but he could already tell what it was. As a Vampire, he would be bound to the Races' weaknesses and curse, for Immortality, enhanced stats and various other benefits he would suffer the constant hunger for the blood of the living.

 _I'm thirsty_. Old Tepes thought while reaching up and stared at the palm of his clawed hand, his nails replaced by black claws at one inch in length, sharp as razors. And he gripped his hand into a fist and he felt his claws dig into his flesh and with it came the sharp, slight sting of pain. He pulled his fingers apart and revealed four bleeding marks on his skin...That then healed over because of his passive, **High-Speed Regeneration**.

Unless a wound was caused by a blessed or cursed weapon, this at least confirmed his physical wounds would heal quickly, in barely fa second his marred skin was flawless and all that remained was his blood, which he brought up and licked with his tongue.

It tasted of copper, like any blood...But swallowing it, he regretted it instantly because bile rose in his throat and he coughed, stepping from his throne and bringing his hand up to muffle the harsh coughs.

"Well..." He muttered, voice a deep baritone. "At least I know drinking my own blood for sustenance isn't on the table." He wiped his lips on the back of his sleeve.

In hindsight that should have been obvious, if Vampires could sustain themselves with their own blood, how cheap would that be?

It also served to further confirm that YGGDRASIL had changed, it had been impossible for such features to be programmed, sight and interaction was possible, yes, but smell and such a real sense of touch? No, he now had access to all five of his senses as a Human, and even the Hunger related to his race was now his.

It was impossible, but this was just the first steps and he had to be sure. He needed to see the rest of the world, if it had become real, maybe a breakthrough in programming and technology, had YGGDRASIL ended and been reborn as YGGDRASIL 2.0? Or was this something entirely different?

Old Tepes was sure if he still had a heart it would be racing for how freaked out he should be, but it seemed that with his race, panic wasn't coming to him easily, or at all. _It must something to do with my Mental Resistances._ The Lord of Vampires thought as he stood, looking over the wealth around him once more. _On top of actively defending me from Mind-Control and Illusion spells, it might also be working to increase my natural mental fortitude against emotional outbursts_.

It was as good as any explanation, or perhaps he was in shock and still processing the reality of what was happening, either way he was still able to think about this situation, plan, he needed a plan.

"I guess I should start by leaving this cave." His HUD hadn't popped up, no gesture brought it up and he couldn't access any In-Game menu. For all intents and purposes, Old Tepes was now what he had been made to be. A High Vampire with the class Lord of Vampires.

 _Right, leaving the cave_. The Vampire thought, frowning at his fist once more, flexing his fingers once, twice and then moving over to his chests. Before any exploration could take place he needed to be a bit more prepared. After all, all he'd had in his inventory was were Blood Potions to heal himself, Buff Items for physical fighters and the gear he'd un-equipped in exchange for this mid-Level setup he'd used.

He opened the chest and dug through the various tonics and scrolls, at the very least, he had access to his Inventory. And against all that shoud be possible, he just KNEW what was within it, he had fifteen Blood Potions, a dozen Mana potions. Several Buff Scrolls and some various high-level gear for combat.

So, he unloaded some of that gear, since loading up his Inventory might be a bit troublesome with all that he'd dumped into the chests. But then he'd not planned for whatever had happened to happen but who really expects such a fantastic outcome?

In the end, he decided to adopt a better suit of gear.

Now in front of a full body mirror, he observed his current attire. His breastplate had been replaced by dragon-scaled leather vest, with additional black steel scales down the back and front, additional protection. Mobile AND comfortable, which was important now that he could feel the weight of the armor and how it fit.

He glanced down at his black slacks, he thought about a more traditional _Hakama_ , but then that didn't really fit the "Lord of Vampires" motif, he settled for the slacks and Dragon-scaled black leather boots, tipped by the same black steel at the toes and heels. With the red long sleeved noble shirt he wore beneath the vest, he cut a noble figure indeed.

But it needed something else, a final touch. He turned back to the chests and moved over to the fabrics chest, digging around it and then, when he found what he was looking for, a High-Tier fabric and leather cloak, with silver embroidery. It was black and gray, as well, so he flourished it and wrapped it around his shoulders and clasped it on.

He smiled, flashing his elongated canines in the flickering torchlight.

Old Tepes IV now cut a truly regal Vampire figure, on top of his high-class/tier clothing he was also designed to look fairly noble in face. While in his true Vampire form, he'd look a lot more menacing, but in his Human state, he would pass for a pale, odd eyed Human. With black hair, bangs framing his pale face just past his chin, while the hair behind him was braided neatly. Ending in a Red-Ribbon tie. A bit girly, admittedly, but hardly out of place for a slightly flampoyant noble.

His eyes were sharp, as were his eyebrows, which always seemed to be slightly furrowed. Red glowing eyes staring back at him as he smiled, his fangs glinted once more and he turned away, bringing up the hood and covering his face in shadow.

"Perfect." Old Tepes grinned to himself and set the Black Forged Katana at his side once more, if he needed to, he'd summon his Unholy Sword and use that. An Unenchanted, but powerful, forged sword would work just as fine.

Equipped and stocked on potions and scrolls, the High Vampire made his ascent up into the world of YGGDRASIL once more to find out exactly how different the world had become. So when he saw the light at the end of the tunnel, he frowned, because it had been night when he'd entered the cave previously and now it was suddenly day?

He stepped into the light and was greeted to the world anew.

Old Tepes wasn't sure what he expected when the world had come into focus, instead of the night covered ruins of the ancient tomb he'd taken cover inside of for this last hours in YGGDRASIL he was greeted to a vast expanse of trees, greenery and such pure nature that the scents and sounds assaulted his newly freed senses so utterly the High Vampire almost staggered as he took it all in.

The wild life, he could smell and hear them, some distant, somce closer. The rustling of the trees, the feel of the breeze, even the stinting of the sun against his Vampiric skin was only a minor concern compared to the sheer force of which the world around him was pressing against his senses.

Tepes inhaled deeply, taking in the scents with closed eyes and then exhaled, tasting the air and chuckling. "This... I always thought YGGDRASIL was beautiful, but this forest is truly something." That he wasn't where he'd originally been was still concerning, but he was not as worried because this was just...So much! The High Vampire took his first steps onto the grass and took another deep breath to re-live the exhilaration of nature.

Only this time, a new scent joined the forest's own, it was metallic, sweet and his body recognized it even if he, as a Human, wouldn't. It was the scent of blood, fresh Human blood being carried by the wind, someone had been freshly wounded and the scent had been carried on the breeze.

Tepes licked his lips which were suddenly far too dry, and his throat was suddenly so very parched, like a man who hadn't had anything to drink for a day.

 _I should investigate, spilled blood means battle...And battle could lead to valuable information, depending on the factions involved._ Tepes thought, ignoring the way the Hunger in his gut twisted and churned and URGED him to run for the scent. And he took off into a run, he almost surprised himself with how quick he was moving... He'd merely attempted to jog, but his body's new strength, something beyond Human, took a "jog" and turned it into a sprint that would leave many top athletes salivating.

He ignored it, catching a mistep and leaping forward into a faster run, and the edges of his vision tunneled as his speed turned him into a blur of motion, stopping only when he came across the scene of a battle...Or at least a struggle.

There was blood splattering the grass, and the trees were scratched with sword wounds, and discarded sword and shield, bits of armor and fabric. The blood wasn't as fresh as he'd thought, it was drying in the sun, but the breeze had carried the scent towards him all the same.

Tepe crouched down and touched it, bringing his blood dripped fingers up and licking them. The sweet life blood of the living dampened his hunger, but more over, it gave him a better understanding of how old it was. The blood was five hours old, and given the time of day, whomever had been attacked had been ambushed in the early hours of the morning while the sun was just beginning to rise for the day itself.

It also belonged to a woman, a spirited one if the site of the battle was anything to go by, she'd struggled, but only after she'd been ambushed... This hadn't been a very long struggle, the blood was dripping and dragged, she'd have likely bled out by now if not treated immediately.

The High Vampire finished cleaning his fingers and then, he followed the trail left behind. Along the way, he found more splatters of blood and even more armor and fabric. _They stripped her along the way_ , Tepes realized as he followed at a brisk pace. _Lightening the load? Or giving themselves easier access to her body?_ There was a familiar feeling of disgust in the High Vampires gut, both as A Human and Vampire, such an act of base degeneracy was abhorrent in his eyes, it was pathetic, without any point bar physical pleasure.

Red eyes narrowing, he considered how best to handle the men who he'd catch up with.

* * *

He reached the entrance of a cave, he stopped and peered over the mouth of the cavern, cocking his head to the side and sniffing, there was more scents now...Humans, yes... Blood, yes, and others he didn't know...But they were foul, most foul.

"Disgusting." He sneered, resisting the urge to cover his nose from the scent of it. He wasn't sure what it was he was smelling but he decided he didn't like it.

After a brief glance for any potential traps, he stepped into the darkness and his eyes, once bound by Mortal means, glowed and soon, the dark passage was illuminated so sharply and perfectly he could see every nook and cranny of the cave the darker it became as he walked along, he frowned, and softened his steps further, soon the subtle sound of his boots padding the rocky floor quieted to almost nothing, but he assumed that was his High Vampire hearing making it still possible to hear them.

As an additional precaution, he muttered. " **Conceal Presence**." His body glowed briefly as his presence was eliminated, he would become all but invisible to the other senses bar touch and sight.

Whatever was in this cave, the scent of foulness and Human blood grew heavier as he walked further inside. He glanced down the path of another tunnel that connected with the main passage. _How interesting, had I a torch, the shadows of the flame would have hidden it well_. Tepes thought, frowning. _Such a trick would have made for a good ambush tactic, if a bit basic._

He continued along, these bandits were base creatures indeed, less than Human if their intelligence allowed for only these basic set ups, any Player worth their salt would see such an obvious trap. But then, several things didn't add up and now that he had a few moments of silent, but stinking, contemplation, he could analyze them more thoroughly.

 _Like the woman being dragged, if this were still a game, I doubt they'd allow her to be stripped like she was being on the way here, that would be controversial as Hell itself if a game introduced a function like this_. Tepes thought while casually stepping over a tripwire of some sort. _And there's the lack of any real HUD or Menu, the more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to think this isn't an upgraded YGGDRASIL, but the other explanation is...Insane._

But there was a saying, if you eliminate every possibility then whatever remained had to be the truth _. If I am in a new world, and my Player Character is now my new body, that would mean I'm no longer Human, it could also mean I might never wake up. But does that mean I'll die in the real world...? Or have I disappeared as a consciousness from it entirely? My new body is certainly real enough._ The High Vampire glanced down at his pale palm, black claws extended.

If he wasn't a Human anymore, did that mean he was simply Old Tepes IV? God, how would he explain that name? Well, Tepes would do for now, anyway. Not like anyone had a HUD to showcase his name above his head so it would be fine all the same. So he would simply be Tepes, then. Easy.

The High Vampire stopped and frowned when sounds finally reached his ears, the sound of flesh striking flesh, whimpers and inhuman cackling. And the scent, the blood and whatever else, so spaced out was Tepes that he hadn't noticed but now he knew precisely what that smell was.

Fists clenched, he stepped downwards along the path and closer to the noises. Once he reached the bottom, he came across the large cavernous opening, it wasn't decorated, it was dark, or would be and inside the darkness he saw the shapes of Human women on the ground, around them were smaller, no less disgusting figures.

And now, the foul stench was suddenly made all too easy to understand. Small, green creatures, yellow goat-like eyes and simply loin cloths, shoddy weapons crafted from rocks and basic iron, primitive and small as the creatures that were currently having their way with the half a trio of Human women, who barely whimpered and struggled against their abusers, simply laying there among the blood and bones and other foul matter on the floor.

Bruised, beaten and certainly broken.

Tepes frowned, and the two guards watching at the entrance to the cavern hadn't taken notice of him, too busy watching with obvious malicious lust for the entertainment their prisoners were giving their...Fellows. The High Vampire felt his disgust and ire rising that he'd almost missed how the Shaman, who'd been watching the proceedings with obvious glee had taken notice of the dark figure in the darkness of the entrance.

With a screech, it pointed it's staff at him and suddenly, the two dozen odd Goblins who were scattered about the cavern looked up, throwing the Humans they were enjoying down onto the floor and reaching for weapons at their waists, snarling and glaring in surprise at the dark humanoid figure that had appeared snuck up on them.

And then came the lumbering of a taller figure from the back, stand a full two heads taller than even the High Vampire. These base creatures, they could only belong to one pathetic, base race.

"Goblins," Tepes intoned, his voice echoing deeply across the cave, the guards rounded on him, baring spears. "You filthy, base monsters barely worth the effort of tracking you down, let alone the XP of slaughtering you!" He gripped the handle of his katana his right hand, his left taking hold of the sheath.

The guard snarled and met his eyes, making their first mistake in this battle as his High Vampire passive skill took hold, **Greater** **Vampiric Hypnotism** took hold and the pair of Goblins suddenly relaxed as they fell into his complete control. "End your lives." Tepes commanded as he stepped forward, eyes glowing as they focused on the Shaman, who quickly adverted his own eyes when he saw the guards turn their spears to their own throats and _thrust_.

Gurgling, dying, the guards flopped over onto the ground behind him. Their death certain. Tepes stopped once he was in view of all the Goblins did the High Vampire see fit to draw the black Katana from it's sheath, the soft sound of metal leaving sheath echoing as the edge was freed.

"Now, who wishes to die next?" The High Vampire drawled with strained disgust, gripping the handle of his weapon so tightly he was sure the metal would warp if it was of lower quality.

The Shaman Goblin snarled, and the others looked at his chest, but never his eyes. They were smart enough to know not to look at his eyes now. The larger Goblin stepped forward, stopping short when the Shaman barked an order, leaving the smaller ones to swarm around the Vampire, whom glanced over the spreading forces.

Large numbers against a single, higher level foe. A common tactic, fitting for these low level monsters. Three circled around his back, and jumped, he felt them in the air more than heard them... And with a flicker of speed he twisted on his feet and severed them at their waits, spilling blood across his cloak and falling into a crouch to plant his hand on the floor, letting his leg lash out and slam into the side of another Goblin, sending it careening into another and both laying on the floor in pain, the first might have been dead.

He stood once more and brought the blade to bare again, slicing across the air and carving the weapons of the closing Goblins and removing their diminuative heads from their wretched shoulders, blood and goes around his neat little space of Vampire ground, Tepes rose to his full height, and left seven odd Goblins, the Shaman and the larger Goblin, who hefted a wooden club, looking ready to step forward.

And it did when the Shaman snarled, hopping off his bone throne and beginning to ready a magic spell, seemingly intent on ridding their cave of the intruder. The large monster came forward, hefting the club high and then bringing it down, the hardened wood surface slamming loudly against the flat palm of Tepes' left hand, who curled his fingers and gripped it so hard the wood groaned and snapped.

The large Goblin growled and tried to pull the weapon free, only for the Vampire to remain entirely immobile. "You're weak," Tepes muttered, and brought his Katana up with a flick of his arm, and then the body fell back, split nicely in two from groin to brain. He tossed the club aside and eyed the Shaman, who unleashed his magical spell.

A fireball.

Tepes watched the ball impact an invisible barrier of shimmering magic. Rolling his eyes, Tepes raised his hand and flashed the golden jeweled ring on his left ring finger. "Surprised? My Ring cancels out Magic spells of Sixth tier and lower." Which essentially gave him the same Immunity to magic as most lesser Dragon species. He lowered his hand and brought up the other, pointing it at the now shaking Shaman. "You, on the other hand," No pun intended. "Likely don't have such a ring."

Tepes smirked, and the Shaman turned to run. " **Swarm of the Night**." And from the shadow of his palm sprang dozens of black, shadowy bats that screeched and flew at the Shaman, catching him in their midst and lifting the screaming, gargling monster into the air...And soon, droplets of flesh and blood rained down onto the cavern floor.

The remaining Goblins, stunned and fearful, began to scream and run for the cave exit, intending to escape their fate. And that simply wouldn't do for the High Vampire. "Now, now... My pets haven't had nearly enough." He raised his second hand, and from it sprang the same spell, and the remaining goblins disappeared into the small, ravenous maws of hundreds of Vampire bats.

Once it was all over, Tepes was left along among the defeated corpses. He surveyed the dead Goblins, then brought up a hand covered in their blood and licked it, then hissed...Flicking his hand aside and snorting. "Disgusting in appearance, disgusting in taste." Go figure.

Still, he supposed there was a more viable source of food.

The High Vampire eyed the women on the ground, three of them, and moving towards their prone forms, naked and defiled, he glowered down at them. Sneering once more... How weak were they to have been overcome but such loathsome creatures? He crouched over the nearest one and gripped her hair, turning her head over and peering at her face.

Her eyes, he noticed, were distant, foggy, as if she weren't even there at a mental level. She'd likely been down here, enduring these creatures for days, he frowned, then giving her a skull a squeeze, she barely made a sound of protest... So used to pain, so far away from where she currently was.

 _This is tragic, honestly she'd be better off dead._ The High Vampire rose after releasing her and peering down at her. He drew his sword once more and placed it against her neck and considered it. He could kill them, he didn't want to feed off them because...Well, they were filthy, and he is..Or was? Human, even if he had just seen all this violence... And yet all he felt for it was a mild disgust he wasn't even sure was from the act itself or just because they were weak enough to allow this to happen to themselves.

It was clear to Tepes that his Humanity had been altered by his new body, the women were proof enough of that, this would have sickened to the core were he back in his world, but now...The mild disgust and displeasure at not being to feed were all he felt. _If anything, this is just more proof that I really am no longer Human._ He thought to himself, still holding the sword against that exposed neck, as thirsty as he was he still didn't want to feed off these defiled women.

"If you want to live," He pressed the sword against her skin. "Speak up now."

It was the only warning she would get, the only opportunity to change her fate... And she didn't even move her lips. He frowned, then without a real effort, he severed her head from her neck, spilling her blood across the floor. He moved onto to the next, it was the same basic nothing...And then she was dead too. Tepes moved onto the next, placing his sword against her.

"Speak up if you want to live, woman." Tepes frowned, then sighed when she gave no real response. "Very well."

"-Elp..."

He stopped, it was barely audible, but he heard it, heard her. The edge of his sword lifted away from her throat, "What?"

"Help... I want..." She croaked, eyes finding themselves, there was life in them now, sparking. "To live."

The High Vampire considered her in silence, letting the darkness of the cavern around them sink in...Before finally, he nodding. "Very well, you will live." He crouched down beside her, rolling the blue haired woman onto her back, she gasped, seeing his red eyes glowing in the darkness. "But I require something of you."

Her eyes darkened, her eyes took him in and he could see the suspicion. "Anything..." She didn't hide herself, she was disgusting already, covered in dirt and things best left unsaid.

"Your blood, I will save you, and in return, you shall provide me a small feeding." Tepes said, staring into her green eyes. "Are we in agreement?"

"If I...Refuse?"

Tepes narrowed his eyes. "Then you can attempt to survive on your own, with no transport, no weapons and arms. Battered as you are physically. I will simply leave you to try and fend for yourself." The Vampire replied.

"And if...I agree?"

"I will take you from here, provide you with some supplies and take you to a Human settlement." He explained, "From there, I don't care what you do. I'll have held up my end of the bargain."

She was silent, and he was beginning to turn away. "I accept... Just...Get me out of this place."

Tepes smirked, turning his red eyes back to her. "Very well," he turned around and kneeled down, sheathing his sword and then, he took her into his arms, frowning softly at her stench, she reeked of filth and he hated it, but they had reached an accord. "Let's go." He turned away, the woman in his arms. This situation was also two-fold, he would gain, hopefully, an ally and she would provide him information about any nearby Settlement, from there he can begin to "map out" the local area, get a feel for it and decide what to do from there. It was the beginnings of a plan, to be sure.

"Ah, right," He stared down at her. "What is your name?"

"Paladin."

The Vampire blinked. "...Pardon?"

"No, Paladin. That's my name." She "corrected" him, finally meeting his eyes, before sharply glancing away again.

"...Ah _." So, she goes by a class name, as opposed to a name given at birth? Or were he parents particularly strange to name her such a thing?_ The Vampire considered for a moment longer. If that was the case, should he go by one of his Classes? She knew he was a Vampire, so one of his Vampire classes or race would work... He doubted Lord of Vampires would go over well _. For now, I shall use a suitable Alias, following her example_.

"You may call me Vampire Prince."

 **End of Chapter One**

 **There is Chapter One! And it is longer than the Prologue, because reasons! I'm hoping to flesh out Tepes as the story goes on, for now, he's not entirely evil, but Vampires are known to view other beings as their lessers, and now a Human is for all intents and purposes a Vampire, so, I think anyone would take a few moments to conflict with themselves.**

 **And now, I must work on the second chapter! Thanks to all those who've Fav/Follow/Reviewed! Until next time, everyone!**


	3. Chapter Two

**Noble Blood**

 **Chapter Two**

Tepes hadn't realized what a challenge it would be being a High Vampire, his new body was simply amazing in ways he couldn't fathom. Yes, he could probably rip most living things apart like they were fleshy paperbags and move faster than the eye could see if he really pushed himself to it, and without YGGDRASIL's Game Mechanics he could do both of those, but it also came with a number of challenges that made it almost as... Inconvenient.

Even with the filthy Human woman in his arms, Paladin, being her ridiculous name, covered by a simple cloak he'd pulled from his inventory to grant her some decency, covered in filth as she was he could still feel the pulse of her blood and he was reminded how thirsty he was and he knew he'd need to feed soon.

 _She better hold up her end of the bargain once she's clean._ Tepes thought with a frown, glancing down at the woman who was glancing around sharply at every little pebble shifting, as if she expected an attack from the shadows themselves. She winced again when a droplet of water fell from the cave ceiling onto floor and he groaned, that made her jump.

"Would you calm down? The Goblins are dead to the last one and I doubt the shadows are going to jump out at you." The High Vampire growled, having had enough of her jumping like a frightened rabbit everytime something that wasn't them made some noise.

She looked up at him, eyes torn between some deep, likely unforgettable fear and a fierceness he could only call the beginnings of incredulation. "C-Calm down?!" She hissed, "Do have any idea what I've endured for what feels like the last day?!"

The Vampire raised a brow in the darkness. Really? She was going to play that card? "You were ambushed by the most pitiful creatures this world could offer, and then used as breeding stock against your will." When she looked absolutely shocked he could list those particular details with that same dry expression he continued. "You had to know what you were in for when you saw the others."

"Knowing and _experiencing_ are two very different things you heartless monster!"

The High Vampire snarled, claws digging into the cloak and threatening to break her skin, she even gasped as he glared down at her, eyes glowing in restrained fury. "Yes, I _am_ a Monster, I am A High Vampire and currently being extremely generous in saving your apparently ungrateful life when I could have instead _killed_ you and left you to rot with the Goblins and other women."

Paladin shuddered under the heavy gaze, even as the shadows themselves seemed to curl around them closer, as if reaching to grab her and take her and hurt her-She screwed her eyes shut and closed in on herself, wrapping that cloak tighter to herself while all but screaming as panic took her. "I'm sorry! Just get me out of this cave!"

"I plan to," Tepes grunted, displeased, but they had reached an agreement and he was going to go through with it, not doing so would make him a liar and that was worse than those Goblins. "Now stop squirming. We're almost out."

The light at the end of the tunnel came into view, and Paladin looked almost ready to leap out of his arms and run for it herself, not that she'd get very far given her state. Finally, they reached the light and crossed into the day's light, she gasped and he hissed. The sun's light bit at his pale skin and even his shadowed face wasn't immune to the bite of the day.

"I thought I'd never see daylight again," The woman whispered, as if awed by the sight.

"I wish I never would have to, but it seems all our expectations are being disappointed." The Vampire muttered and continued along. "There's a river nearby, you can washthe filth off your body there and then I will take my reward." She looked sharply at him, mouth opening and he cut her off. "I am A Vampire, I need to feed and I am quite hungry. I'll take my reward now and still fulfill the bargain he struck, if I do not I can't quarantee I won't simply kill you in a lust to sate my hunger."

Paladin, blue hair messed and green eyes concerned, finally, she found her voice. "Can't it wait until we're at a Human settlement...?"

"As I said, I can try for that, but as hungry as I am, I'm not sure my own hunger will let me." Tepes drawled, glancing over the forest around them. "If you're worried I am planning to kill you once I fed, I could have done that back in the cave. Snuffing your life out is hardly the highest thing on my To-Do list." Slitted red eyes rolled.

"But if you bite me... Won't that turn me into a Vampire as well?"

"Only if I want it to, and believe me, I don't want a weakling like you among my kind." He sneered, as if she were some impulsive insect making itself known at an already particularly bad dinner. "So you're safe, at least until my hunger overtakes me." He was exaggerating, of course, but the hunger was irksome and it would only get worse so he'd rather nip it in the bud quickly.

"F-Fine..." Paladin frowned, more life returning to her eyes. "Just...Get it over with quickly."

Tepes rolled his eyes once more.

* * *

The Vampire stood beneath the shade of a tree, not that it helped, while the Sun was high in the sky the bite of it's light would always be with him until Night fell. He watched as Paladin splashed water over herself to wash the grime and muck from herself, the way she shivered and squeaked was testament to how cold it was.

He could also freely see the scars upon her body, bruises lined her arms and legs, mostly at her inner thighs, thin, reddened lines of healing and healed cuts and scrapes also marred her flesh. But beyond that, he could see the toned condition of her body, she had muscles from training and wielding her sword and shield, and now that she was cleaner he could safely say that by Human standards she'd be beautiful.

And yet, his Vampiric body felt nothing but disgust.

 _In YGGDRASIL, Vampires were always known to have an inflated sense of superiority, seeing themselves above all others, even other monsters, if I'm a Vampire now, I guess that means that I'm following that trend_. Tepes thought as he glanced over the forest once more while Paladin cleaned herself. _I can still admire the beauty of this forest easily enough, but a woman who would have had me drooling when I was younger has me thinking how much better she'd look rolling down some stairs_.

"How are you out in the daylight?" Paladin spoke up, finally gazing at him with some semblance of confidence, the water and being out of that cave seemingly returning some of her earlier spirit, even if she was shaking from the cool water itself. "You're a Vampire, you should be burning."

He cocked his brow. "I am in the shade, beside that, do you think I am some lowly Vampire to be defeated by mere sunlight? I am a Vampire Prince, a breed above all other Undead," Well, at least he got the ego right. "Sunlight to me is but an annoyance at best. A better question, how does a Paladin, a wielder of Holy Magic and martial strength, get overcome by a handful of wretched creatures?"

Shame and horror flashed in those eyes, and she looked down quickly. "I was caught off guard, exhausted from a previous mission in the area, I thought since it was the early hours and the sun was beginning to rise I'd be safe from Goblin ambushes, but I... Was wrong." Paladin explained.

"Considering how close you were to their nest, you were just unlucky to catch them as they were making their way back to it." The Vampire almost smirked at the way her shoulders tensed. "Your plan wasn't wrong, Luck just didn't favor you."

"I..." She grit her teeth, and her fists clenched. "That's..."

"Almost tragic, I'd pity you, if I could feel the emotion." Tepes got the feeling she wasn't comforted by that, because she was giving him a look that would have been scathing if it could be weaponized. "Don't give me that look, tha fact I'm doing any of this for you is a sign of my generosity."

"That's what I don't get," She stood from the edge of the water now, one arm folded across her breasts and her hand hanging to shield between her legs, with her cleansing, it seemed a sense of modesty returned, or was it shyness? "Why did you save me? Or even try to save the others, I heard you ask the questions, before you...Killed them. You're not like any Vampire I've heard of."

"We covered this, I am not a normal Vampire. I am A Vampire Prince." Tepes briefly wondered if killing her would solve the fact she seemed slow, but he steadied his rising ire, he made a pact, he would see it through. "But if you really need a more justified reason for my helping you. I'm helping myself-" He held up his hand when she opened her mouth to ask. "I'm getting to that."

"I've slept for a long time, very, very long time. And when I awoke, the world had changed and now, here I am in familiar yet unfamiliar land. Yes, I can simply track down Humans and threaten them into telling me, hypnosis as well, but such things are time consuming and run the risk of producing complications if my influence on them wanes, so to reduce corpses and my time wasted, I figured helping you would provide me a good deed to prove I am not the wholesale evil of my lesser brethren," God, Tepes was really selling his superiority, even he wanted to punch himself for his smug! "And once I learn where a Human Settlement is, I can use it as a learning base to educate myself on the world."

"You want to learn about the world? Why didn't you run off to the Demon Lord to join his armies?"

 _Demon Lord?_ The High Vampire thought, frowning _. It must be common knowledge if she brought it up so brazenly, or a slip, either way, I can continue to play my current hand_. "I refuse to subjugate myself to something as lesser as a Mere Lord of Demons." He waved his hand dismissively,

Paladin, amusingly, looked like he'd slapped her with a trout. "B-But, he's the Demon Lord, the ruler of all things evil and a threat to the entirety of the lands here and everywhere! He commands legions of dark forces and how can you not want to join him in conquest?! You're a creature of the darkness!"

"And that is why i do not wish to subjugate myself," The Vampire replied, returning her utterly flabbergasted tone for his own calm and collected one. "That all sounds so troublesome. Razing the kingdoms? Leading Legions? At my strength level I'd easily be something of a high ranking commander." Maybe the highest, but until Tepes learned more of the world and it's levelling system, he shouldn't flaunt his power overly much. "And leading Legions and burning lands for the sake of destruction sounds boring."

"So you're not going to join the Demon Lord's armies because you're lazy?!"

That got her a glare. "Careful, woman," He hissed, baring his fangs. "I'm not above draining you dry and then tossing your corpse at a village so that you've found civilization so I can still fulfill my bargain AND not have to deal with you." That shut her up very quickly, he let his ire bleed off his aura for several seconds before letting loose an explosive sigh. "That reminds me, you are suitably clean now, come here. I shall take my blood and we can get you clothed and continue on with our pact."

Paladin hesitated, holding her herself tighter as if the gesture would defend her from him. He waited, brow raised expectantly. "Can it really not wa-"

"I told you it cannot," she winced. "Come, I've already told you I don't want to have to kill you, your attempts at resistance only annoy me." Tepes raised his hand and beckoned her over, "Now come."

She looked like she was contemplating running, and he almost warned her not to, but she took a deep breath and faced him, then, she made her way over, slowly, but surely, when she was right there in front of him, she met his eyes and frowned, but her lips and legs were quivering. He could sense the fear inside her...Then, she tilted her head to the side and closed her eyes, shaking more intensely.

He stared at her, silent. She continued to stand there, head looking uncomfortably tilted. After a near thirty seconds, he finally broke the silence. "What are you doing?"

That made her open her eyes, "...Offering my neck?"

"I see that," The Vampire deadpanned. "Why?"

"Don't you want to feed?"

A sigh. "Your wrist would do, I'm trying to feed, not kill you. If I fed from your carotid artery and you flinched or some foolish move, You'd end up hurting yourself and I am not wasting my Mana on healing your wounds more than I have to." She gasped, and looked at him strangely. "...What is now?"

"You can do healing magic? But...You're undead!"

"...Again, I am not a Normal Vampire."

"I'm beginning to see that!" Paladin stomped her foot, hands curled into fists and coming up to ruffle her hair, as if he was speaking high speed nuclear physics and frying her brain. He also noted that with her stomp and hands away from her body, her chest swayed rather invitingly, and he rolled his eyes. "You don't make sense! You're a Dark monster who doesn't want to follow the Demon lord. You're an Undead who knows _healing_ magic! And you killed other dark creatures."

"I dislike Goblins."

"Why?!"

"...Do you really need to ask? They're pathetic, weak and so base they can't rely on themselves to produce their own numbers, they need stock like you to do it, as pathetic as you Humans are, you're still leagues above their lesser kind." Tepes explained, this only seemed to inflame her more, really.

"And that too! You're so contradicting and it frustrates me!"

The Vampire groaned, "And you're frustrating me, so give me your wrist, let me feed, then we get on with this journey and you can finally be away from me and I can go back to trying to discover what it is I've missed in the last few hundred years. Okay?"

Her hand came up so fast he was almost certain she would punch him, but it stopped just short of it, wrist up, she turned her head away and muttered. "Just get it over with."

"Gladly," Because it would dull his hunger AND get her away from him faster, he took her wrist in his hand and leaned down, parting his lips and revealing those longer canines, which glinted with sharpness, then, he bit into her flesh. She gasped and shuddered, he grunted as the taste of blood filled his mouth, and he gulped it down, taking three great drinks before he removed himself from her and brought up his hand over her wounded wrist.

" **Minor Close Wounds**." He intoned, and with a glow, The spell was as basic as they came, and when she cried out as her wound forcibly closed itself, flesh stitching itself together once more, she grit her teeth and pulled her hand away when he released her. "You are healed."

"What kind of healing magic is that?" She rubbed her aching wrist, her skin was scarred where he'd bitten and drank from, but the wound was closed.

"Undead kind, unlike regular Healing Magic that is harmful to many undead, that spell merely forces the body to heal, it's a painful process the more severe the wound. So you're lucky I only used it on a minor wound like that. Anything else and you might just end up screaming." Tepes grinned when she looked horrified at the idea, but, she also did look a little grateful. "Now, let's go."

This time, she didn't resist the offered cloak...And she kept quiet as they moved along. He idly considered if his hoard was alright, but he was sure it was fine.

* * *

The Gods of Order and Chaos, the Supreme existences and creators of the world at large sat at the large table containing the world's outline, locations and everything important to run the functions of the game they called "Life", from each side the various Gods took their turns, made their machinations and challenged their rivals, worked together on some occasions and when things got really Dice-y, discussed at length what should be done at some juncture.

This was one such juncture of discussion.

It was concerning the new piece on their board, the one that took the shape of a gray bat with crackling red lines across it's body, as if the vessel was struggling to maintain it's form due to the power it held. It had appeared a few hours ago, sudden and violently, none of the other Gods had taken responsibility and it wasn't until they did a little digging and brought up the basic class and name did they have an inkling of where it had come from.

So, that was why they were all seated around the table, their turns on pause until they could get to the bottom of it.

Hovering over the board was a text window, and as the collective supreme Gods of the world waited, they watched the screen.

Connecting...Connecting...Connecting, Accepted!

Collectively, they groaned in relief. And the first God, Truth, decided to be the ice breaker. He raised his hand forward and "typed" into the air, and so, the Dialogue began. _**I think we got one of your strays**_. He nodded as the text appeared on screen.

The response was almost instant. _**Oops, I thought I'd misplaced one. The Vampire, right?**_ They got the impressing the response was a sheepish one, akin to a child being asked if they'd dropped the cookie on the floor they were now sweeping up.

Truth rolled his eyes, Illusion took the reigns for the next bit. _**Can you collect him?**_

This time, there was a noticeable pause in the response, finally, it came. _**Nope!**_

Both sides of the Gods promptly wanted to throw things at the screen, but, Truth holding up a proverbial hand stopped the briefly sparked need to riot. He responded. _**Why not?**_

 _ **Well, you see, the means I used to get him to where he was supposed to go is a Two-Way street from my end to the where he was going. Because the world he was going to was rich in Magical power and the summoning system in place handled a LOT of the heavy lifting and coordinating, my job is just to choose who goes and open the door, it pulls them through.**_ Why did the collective of Divine beings feel like the other Supreme Being had put on reading glasses? _**Now, to retrieve him would take a similar spell, otherwise my own efforts to retrieve them would be akin to dipping my hand into a bag of candy and hopefully pulling the one I want out despite it being filled with other bits of candy. You see where I'm going with this?**_

They did, they did and they didn't like it. Truth decided to ask the question. You want us to use our own power to send him back, do you?

 _ **What?! Creation no! That's a terrible idea, even if I had the juice to receive him, you'd have to get my dimensional coordinates right and maintain the connection, which, between you all and me, is no small feat, even for us Divine Existences. Why do you think the summoning system for the world I use is on a recharge period of one century? We're bridging Time, Space and Realities here and that takes a lot of power.**_ This time, they got the impression the other Divine was horrified at the idea.

The collective however felt the beginnings of a mass headache. Illusion took over this time. _**What are our options, then? This Vampire threatens our game.**_

 _ **Right! Options, okay, easy. See, the countdown timer for the Summoning System in place in the world he was supposed to go is already counting down, once it reaches it's desired time limit, I'll dial in your lot's dimensional coordinates instead for the retrieving point, then you all just need to make sure it's accurate and grab our wayward vampire. Easy peasy!**_ There was a grin in those texts, they all felt it.

But that didn't change one thing. _**You said it took a Century in that world for the system to charge, didn't you? You mean we must play host to this creature in the mean time?**_ Illusion asked for them.

They knew the answer, of course, they just wanted to get it from the Holy Horse's mouth.

 _ **Yup! It's not THAT bad, I mean, how game breaking can he be? He's one Vampire, I just sent a tomb full of essential superbeings to the world. So I doubt one Vampire can cause that much of a ruckus.**_ There was an awkward silence _ **. Right?**_

Truth, Illusion and the other Gods in the game exhanged glances, before collectively, they sighed. _**Can we at least get some information on we're dealing with? Stats, at least, so we can see if we can deal with him if he does get too big of a problem in-Game.**_ Illusion tried, as much as she liked planning dungeons and adventures, she agreed this needed to be addressed and so, they needed to know about their new board piece.

 _ **Sending Statistics right over!**_ The other divine "said" with fervor. What followed was...

 _ **HP: 80**_  
 _ **MP:80**_  
 _ **Phy. Atk.:100**_  
 _ **Phy. Def.:90**_  
 _ **Agility:100**_  
 _ **Mag. Atk.:75**_  
 _ **Mag. Def.:40**_  
 _ **Resistance:80**_  
 _ **Special Ability:100**_  
 _ **Total: 745**_

There was silence among the Divines, each one trying to calculate how big of a game breaker this was and frankly, even Illusion looked a little put out, and she was always one of the livelier Gods. Truth decided to ask, while they processed this. _**You're joking, right?**_

 _ **Why would I be? He's actually a pretty tame build compared to some of other YGGDRASIL's more devoted player base, his stats are a touch higher than most, granted, but they're not that overwhelming.**_ The other divine probably didn't get the system that was running their world, so that was probably why he couldn't understand he'd just dropped a shark into a trout tank.

Truth decided to spell it out for the other Divine Being. _**He's essentially a full grown lion placed into a large cage with a LOT of mice wrapped in bacon and steaksauce.**_

 _ **WeeeEeeellll, this is a real bad mixup, wasn't it? Look, I'm sorry, you'll just have to wait, I'm sure you can manage this lion, even with your "No Direct intervention" rule, I trust you all! Think of it as a new challenge, play your game before Tepes breaks it! Fun, huh?**_ The other Divine definitely sounded sheepish now.

Yeah, fun, that was definitely a word... for this situation. Truth sighed. _**We'll do our best, you better read the summoning system, we'll do what we can.**_

The connection closed, and the collective Gods stared at the Bat piece on their board, then finally... Greed spoke up. _**Hey, his hoard is unprotected!**_ They all stared at the cave Tepes had arrived in.

Truth looked at his dice, then to the cave, slowly, he grinned. _**I roll to discover that mysterious cave**_. And the dice flew.

 **End of Chapter Two**

 **And now, we have the stats! And the opinions of the various Gods rolling for the lines of the world they live in! And how they see the big walking "Screw the rules I'm Level One hundred" that is Tepes! Also, we get...I guess, Character development...? Iunno, look I just these things and post them! Story planning? Pfft, wassat? Anyways, thanks for the continue support everyone! Until next chapter!**


	4. Chapter Three

**Noble Blood**

 **Chapter Three**

The town was bustling, that was really all he could say about how much activity was taking place in the settlment Paladin had lead him to. Tepes watched as the marketplace was a buzz with almost a hundred Humans, moving to and fro the stalls, holding up wares, chatting among themselves and just generally looking like the world outside didn't matter to them. Which, really, was probably the case to these people.

Paladin herself looked like she was just glad to among other Humans, as if assured now she wouldn't have to fear his "open wrath", really, he had a few spells in mind that would allow him to "Clear" this town like it were a particular underlevelled area in YGGDRASIL, but he didn't bother mentioning that to her and instead, watching as she glanced down at the low level clothing he'd given her and still seemed surprised by the quality of it.

Honestly, they were just first tier gear, the basic of the basic and she was treating them like they were Mithril armor laced with Dragon Scales. He hadn't armed her, not for a threat against himself but simply because he didn't have anything he'd be willing to part with over a simple escort job.

But it wasn't until they were outside a building she called the "Adventurer's Guild", did she finally turn to face him, her eyes were set and he could see the conflict within them as she struggled with whatever it was she thinking.

"Thank you, for saving me and getting me this far." Paladin finally said, bowing her head.

Tepes merely tipped his head slightly. "We had an accord and I am a Man of my word." He glanced down both sides of the street, then back to her. "Nontheless, you are welcome."

She looked confused, then she offered him a tight smile. "No offense, but I hope we never have to meet again."

"The sentiment is shared." The Vampire rolled his eyes. "Do try not to get captured again, yes? You're a Paladin, a warrior like you should be above the petty ambushes of mere Goblins."

That got a tick of her brow and a flash of shame in her eyes. "Oh trust me, I won't. I plan to take a long vacation from Adventuring." The Blunette turned away, grunting. "You should go, I won't tell anyone you're a Vampire, but any Adventurer with a working pair of eyes would pick it up if they saw you."

That had the Vampire smirking. "I'm sure I'll manage." And with that poor passing for a farewell he turned away and moved off into the heart of town, to walk among the Humans once more. His hood was still up, so he disappeared into an alley and once he confirmed it was clear, he called forth his Mana.

" **False Humanity**." Tepes didn't know if the spell had activated, so he raised his hands and sure enough, they'd gain a healthy bit of color, as if he was still among the living and he grinned, knowing his elongated canines were now less prominant and his eyes would have taken a different color.

False Humanity was a fifth tier spell available to the class "Lord of Vampires", in YGGDRASIL it served to change his race from High Vampire to Human, allowing him some anonymity within the game from it's Anti-Heteromorph playerbase, a useful talent for both recon AND ambushes. It's use seemed to remain the same within this world as well, so that was good for him.

Tepes also hadn't thought to tell Paladin that as well, since information was power and he didn't feel like revealing all, or any, really, cards to her. So, better her ignorance for him. False Humanity would last until he was attacked or until he used a Vampire specific ability as well, for a fifth tier spell it was extremely useful.

 _Now, to find a tavern and see if the stereotype informational center exists in this world as well._ Tepes thought, leaving his hood down and taking into the streets, there were a few glances, but none stayed on him and even better, there was no fear. He was just another Human in the crowd.

Perfect.

* * *

This was perfect!

The information that they'd gotten was right, there was a Cave that hadn't been there before in the forest and it was, for all intents and purposes, unguarded! At least, as far as Mage was concerned because her Detect Life spell turned up nothing.

Swordsman and Mage, Emerald Adventurers for the Guild, had received a tip from a passing Hunter that he'd found a cave and while it hadn't looked dangerous, he'd reported it to Swordsman rather than post a request in the Guild to have it investigated, mostly because he was certain they could handle it, being former teammates in the adventuring life.

Into the cave they went, it was dark, but dry. Holding up a torch, Swordsman glanced over the walls, checking the sides. At his waist were a longsword and shortsword, having drawn the Short for these close quarters. "We're still clear." He informed his partner, who held her staff at the ready all the same.

They knew what lay in the darkness for those unaware.

"I'm still sensing nothing as well, if there's life in this cave it's not anything my magic can detect." Mage informed him from the rear, glancing back behind them to be safe as they proceeded.

That was when he caught the sight of the light at the end of the tunnel, the signs of torche flames flickering. Swordsman grinned, "Looks something is here, then." Not necessarily alive, Undead were a thing, but they'd dealt with those enough to know how to handle them and in these closed spaces they'd be choked in and easy picking for Mage's Flame magic.

Their advance slowed until they were quietly stalking, he'd snuffed out his torch and crouched low, his leather armor was near silent, as were Mage's robes. They reached the entrance to the torch lit cavern...

And promptly stared at the sheer amount of wealth within it!

"Whoa..." Swordsman said, looking over the dozen or so chests, packed full of gold, shimmering, beautiful gold! Not to mention the weapons! The swords, spears and axes glowed faintly with enchantment, even several pieces of armor were among the bunch, potions he'd never seen before either! "This is... A lot."

"Understatement," Mage said with a more quiet awe. "There's nothing here, no undead, no defenses I can see or detect... It can't be that simple," She paused, nudging some gold with her staff, nothing happened. "Can it?"

"I think, my dear Mage." Swordsman grinned, stepping forward into the cavern fully and walking towards a particularly lethal looking, curved sword. "That we might have hit a haul we our grandchildren could retire to."

He grasped the handle and yanked the blade from the chest it had been sticking out of.

The torches around the room suddenly went from a blazing gold and orange to a dim blue. Mage rounded on the entrance to the cavern and yelled, "Swordsman!" She raised her staff, readying herself. "We're trapped!"

He saw what she meant when he turned around, the entrance they'd come in from was now just a mass of shadows, black and inky, but when he ran over and thrust his sword into them, entirel stab proof before the metal pinged off it... Then he looked at his recently looted sword and tried that.

The shadow and enchanted blade made contact and the shadows screeched like a demon wounded. He grinned, "Guess this works," He struck it again, the same result... And that was when the blame fire of the torches roared and turned into a harsh green.

Mage saw it first, the shadows of the room suddenly grew darker, alive. As from them forms began to rise, taking Humanoid shapes, shambling and shaky, the forms rose fully and outstretched their arms, it was only when they took their first steps did their eyes and mouth open, revealing razor sharp teeth and blazing red eyes filled with a hateful malice.

Shadow Zombies! Dozens of Shadow Zombies!

"You just had to pick up the glowing sword!" She shouted, readying herself as Swordsman turned from the shadowy doorway and took the front line. She raised her staff. " **Inflammarae**!" The magic roared to life and her staff became the focus, spewing intense flames at a pair of Shadows on the right while Swordsman rushed forward to deal with three on the left.

The flames struck the shadowy beings, whom screamed and snarled and collapsed, writhing in agony as their bodies burned... Only for the flames to expire moments later and they stood back up, seemingly unhurt. They snarled once more and resumed their shambling. "Fire isn't working!" She reported.

On Swordsman's side, he swung wide and bisected a pair of the shadowed undead, they howled and fell in two, hissing as the enchantment of the sword he'd taken worked it's magics and the pair faded into nothing. He grinned, rounding on the third and thrusting through it's chest. It too screamed and died. "This sword is awesome!"

Mage twisted below and around one as it closed to grab her, she slammed her staff into the side of it's head, the silver metal of her staff and the strike causing the shambling shadow to stagger and fall over, not die, but at least Silver was effective.

She turned and raised her staff. " **Holy Light**!" The tip of her staff glowed bright and she raised it into the air.

The result was instant, the room was filled with the hisses and screams of the monsters around them, they raised their hands to shield their eyes, even as their shadowy bodies smoked and they staggered back. Mage smirked, "Don't like Holy Magic, huh? Figures."

Swordsman rushed forward, cutting them down while her spell held, after six down, she told him the spell was ending and he cut the seventh foe down before falling back to within five meters of her. "Cast it again!"

"Already on it," Mage raised her staff. " **Holy L-** _ **Gah**_!?"

Swordsman turned, and his eyes beheld the form of Mage, his adventuring partner of three years, held in the air by three spears of shadows, the bloodied tips piercing clean through her body from three different angles, her eyes were wide in agony, blood dripping from her lips as she struggled to stay alive.

"That's enough out of her," A third voice hissed, and Swordsman rounded on it, among the shambling shadows he saw a new shape emerge from behind the throne in the center of the large room. This one was also a Shadow, but it's shape indicated it was armored, a pair of horns atop it's skull and wielding what looked a spear in each hand. It's eyes glowed red and it's teeth flashed as it grinned. "We can't have her casting that annoying spell again, can we?"

He twisted his spears in hand and flourished them, "Back away from the Swordsman!" The Zombies stopped, then obeyed. "He's mine."

Mage, with a sickening sound of flesh being rent, was freed of the spears as they retreated from her body, leaving her to flop onto the ground and bleed, her chest rising erratically as she clung to life, eyes at the ceiling and tears forming at their corners.

Swordsman grit his teeth and his fingers white knuckled the handle of that enchanted sword as he eyed the Shadow Demon Spearman. "I'm going to gut you." He hissed, promising vengeance. "You monster."

"Please," The Demon grinned wider. "Try." And it rushed forward, thrusting it's left spear for his face, Swordsman barely leaning his head right to avoid it being impaled outright, his sword coming up and instinctively deflecting the right as it came for it's side, he stepped into the Demon's space and twisted around, bringing the following strike across it's chest.

Though, the Demon was prepared, because the failed left spear attack allowed it to twist the weapon and use the shaft to catch the strike, batting it upwards and over it's head while his right arm recovered from the deflect and plant itself into the cave floor, anchored, the demon's leg shot up and planted itself right into Swordsman's gut.

There was brief feeling of pain in his stomach before he was across the room slamming into the rocky wall and sliding down it, hacking up blood as the pain in his stomach and back bloomed across his whole body.

The demonic spearman laughed and rushed forward, Swordsman growled and gripped his pilfered sword once more. "Now!"

" **H-Holy Light**!" Mage cried out as the Demon neared her on it's way to finish him, the power of the spell slammed into him as her staff raised, his body, like the Shadow Undead, smoked and he cried out in pain, covering his eyes with his arm and rounding on her with one of his spears.

"You damned insect!" He thrust forward with his right...Only for the strike to be deflected by the Swordsman, whom twisted on his shaky legs and brought the sword around and up for thrust that drove that enchanted blade up and through the chest cavity of the Shadowy Spearman.

"You..." The Swordsman panted, "Can go back to hell now."

The shadow Demon snarled, then faded into blackened dust. Swordsman almost felt victorious... Until he saw the undead shadows not leaving, he panted. "He...wasn't the caster?!" He gasped, trying to rise once more to face the hordes, who at the death of the Spearman, were advancing again.

This time, Swordsman wasn't sure they'd make it.

"Run..." Mage whispered, her staff clattering onto the floor as the last of her strength left her. "Break...The wall and save...Yourself."

Swordsman grunted, before falling to his knees, legs giving out to the pain, that spearman didn't pull his kicks, apparently. "Don't think that's in the cards, Mage." He said, holding himself up by the sword now. "Not that I would, it's bad manners to leave a lady hanging, right?"

She didn't respond, he glanced over his shoulder...And saw her lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling.

Swordsman looked ahead, gripping the sword in grief. "Don't worry, partner, I won't be long after you." He forced himself up to both feet, lifting the enchanted sword up once more and glaring at the advancing shadows. "And I'll be bringing company!" He stepped forward to meet them.

And in moments, he was overwhelmed, dragged to the floor and devoured by the shadowy undead monsters.

* * *

Tepes returned to his cave as the sun began to lower itself in the distance, the beginnings of night beginning to bleed across the sky above. The Vampire had gathered a bit of information, but it seemed the real sources were connected with the Adventurer's Guild, which he'd need to join to get access to those sources unless he wanted to use more Vampiric means, which could draw attention.

He wasn't worried, he was fairly certain this world's level system didn't seem prepared for something like him, at all. This Demon Lord seemed to be the height of strength, and whomever Hero arose to defeat him, but until he got a more firm grasp of the Adventurer's levels he would operate under the assumption they were at least half his level. Enough to warrant his attention...But not his worry.

For now, anyway.

He stopped, frowning when he felt the disturbance in the air of his humble abode, true, it wasn't a Guild Base, having never been part of one, before then it had been some random, easy to access cave he set up in purely for the Last Stand of YGGDRASIL when he challenged whomever to come and claim all he had before the game ended, but he had left some subtle defenses... Well subtle until you tripped them anyway.

The High Vampire moved into the cavern, once he reached the treasure room he came across a telling story. A woman's corpse, laying bloodied on the floor, wounds caused by piercing weapons, likely the Shadow Spearman he'd summoned as a defensive measure. Killing the Magic caster was combat One-oh-One after all.

He looked to the second body a bit away, torn to shreds and were it not for the face, he'd have barely called the corpse Human related, at his side was an Enchanted Katana, one of Tepes' earlier works as a Weaponsmith, ironically, he'd had it enchanted for additional magical damage, which explained a little bit about why he wasn't sensing the Shadow Demon, a High Tier weapon against a Mid-Tier foe like that? Though, it was clear the gap was closed by the weapon as opposed to sheer talent.

Still, this did provide an interesting scenario for him. Here he had two moderately fresh corpses, Adventurer's no doubt so if they went missing there would probably be investigations into these deaths, and he'd rather his little cave not become some of a tourist trap...

So, it was time to test his Abilities as a Lord of Vampires.

As a Lord of Vampires, his Class afforded him a series of skills that were usually considered "special" in YGGDRASIL, being able to create Vampires of different types depending on the circumstances. Turning an injured, near NPC? It would result in the creation of either a Lesser Vampire, or High-Vampire, depending on the strength of the NPC in question.

But on a Corpse? He wasn't sure, Corpses in YGGDRASIL generally weren't a thing, as NPCs tended to disappear after dropping their loot, but it seemed that wasn't the case here, they were now corpses and he was curious as to the results of his attempts, if any.

He stepped over to the woman first, raising his hand to her. " **Create Vampire**!" Tepes intoned.

Her body glowed a faint purple, the torches around them flickered and her pale skin gained a bit more "life", her dark purple hair swayed and her blue eyes slowly bled to red, slitted and with a gasp, she sat up and panted, drawing breath again after dying was probably a surprise...Among being alive again. "Where...?!" Her eyes shot to him, and she blinked, then she swallowed, seeing his red eyes...And then she looked down to her own hands.

"I...I'm a..."

"A Vampire, yes." He cocked his head to the side. "Shame, I'd hoped to create True Vampire, but it seems you're a High-Vampire like myself."

It was a shame, while High-Vampires were considered lower on the pecking order thank True, but that was because True Vampires got better Stats, so they were stronger from a statistic point of view, while High-Vampires were balanced by the fact they could access a fair few more skills, it was essentially a choice of overall strength versus adaptability.

It was that adaptability that allowed Tepes to gain access to the classes of Noble Vampire, Prince and then Lord of Vampires, after all. So, really, he hadn't regretted his decision to choose High-Vampire Race instead of True Vampire. And he'd been hoping for True Vampire results because they would be stronger and serve well for the purpose he had in mind.

Ah well, beggers and choosers, I suppose. Tepes thought, he crouched down and observed his work, she was clearly struggling to come to terms with her new Un-life, but at least she wasn't screaming. "What's your name?" He asked her.

She snapped her eyes to him, and winced. "Mage... But I guess Vampire Mage, now, right?"

"Mage will do," The High-Vampire replied flatly. "It seems you and your friend," He thumbed the corpse behind him, causing his new coven member to gasp and gag as she saw the state his body was in. "Stumbled upon my hoard and tripped my defenses," Already he could see the wheels turning, a plan coming to more realism as he considered his words. "I probably should have put warning signs out, but I thought a mysterious cave full of treasure was suspicious enough to not need those."

She saw the slight, and she frowned for it. "I get it, we messed up and paid for it." Mage growled, "What do you want from me? I suppose you want me to be your bride then? Concubine...Because I'm telling you now I'm going to stake myself be-"

"Silence," She shut right up, after all, as his "spawn" she was compelled to obey him to a degree. "I'm not going to take advantage of you, you're beneath him." Now she just looked insulted. Though he supposed he understood, she was rather young but quite developed, unlike Paladin who was younger still, Mage was at least in her early twenties, with curves of an active, healthy woman. She would definitely be considered attractive by most, but Tepes was hardly a man to be taken in by a pretty face, both IRL and now.

That's how you get disinherited, after all, falling for pretty faces.

"I instead wanted to make use of your and his," A gesture to the puddle of gore that was the other Human. "Talents, that you two would become my... Well, Apprentices." Because minions, stooges or help was just too on point, and he had learned that giving some gifts for aid were better motivators than blind compulsion. "As it turns out I've a need for help since the world has...Passed me by for several centuries and you both needed a resurrection."

Mage looked conflicted, and he waited patiently, after all, it was a virtue and the payoff would be interesting to watch unfold. "Can you bring back Swordsman?"

"I plan to try, his body is in rough shape," Obviously. "But I'm confident." He stood and moved over to the revaged body of her partner, then he raised his hand. " **Create Vampire**!"

The Magic took hold once more, and the destroyed body shifted, beginning the process of healing itself, flesh and muscle regenerated until it was whole...And with a gasping cry the man now Vampire was upright and grasping at his chest and face. "Where am I?! What happened?! Mage!?"

Tepes wondered if everyone he revived was going to react with the same questions, he'd keep a mental tally for future reference and see how long it takes before he straight up kicks the head off one of his revivee's because of it. "You're in my cave. You died and she's alive as well."

The Swordsman, or just Swordsman, Tepes guessed, looked at his hands... "Am-"

"Yes, you are a Vampire, like me. And like you, Mage is alive, and a Vampire. I revived you both."

"Did you tou-"

Tepes groaned. "Why do you just assume I wanted her body?! You know there are more important things in this world than sexual satisfaction, correct?!" God he was going to kill someone. "So no, I did not touch her, I brought you both back because I need some help understanding this era and you two provided an opportunity...Given your deaths, I also felt partly responsible."

Swordsman looked at him, face a touch skeptical. His hair was brown and eyes matching his hair, otherwise, he looked the same age as Mage. "You set the traps, of course it's your fault."

 _Boy oh boy, is time to kill someone already?_ A snide little voice in Tepes' mind snarked.

"Swordsman," Mage called, standing from the floor, grabbing her staff. "Let's at least hear him out, alright? Vampire or no, he did technically bring us back."

"Fine," Swordsman also stood, grabbing the enchanted sword as well, eyeing the High-Vampire. "Let's hear it."

Old Tepes IV rolled his eyes, then started on what he expected of the pair. It seemed the beginnings of his coven was now... And he was sorely disappointed.

 **End of Chapter Three**

 **And there's Chapter Three, and now you all has some clarification as to what his Race and a few brief hints of what it can do, but it's far more menacing! But we'll explore that later. for now, thanks to everyone who has favored, followed and reviewed, you're all grand! Until next chapter!**

 **Also, yes, my character descriptions kinda suuuuuck, but...Eeeeeeeeeh, giant chickens!**


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